Successful Meetings - June 2009 - (Page 14)

PLANNER’S WORKSHOP education Richelle Taylor, director of travel operations, Excellence In Motivation Inc. Top 10 Ways to Save Your Meeting HOW TO TRIM BUDGETS, REEVALUATE PROGRAMS, ADD VALUE— AND ULTIMATELY COME OUT AHEAD R ecession. Economic downturn. Depression. Buzzwords like these have permeated the media and our industry recently, scaring many companies into retreat when it comes to holding meetings and incentives for fear of public backlash. However, it is even more important in times like these that sales, profits, and employee morale get an extra boost. Meetings industry professionals around the world must reevaluate their program content, budget, and value in order to retain their meetings. “We believe that business meetings and their purpose are a necessary part of our company strategy, but of course we always adhere to a budget,” says Robyn Harper, supervisor of sales promotions for State Auto Insurance Companies. “It is important that we partner with suppliers that can achieve our business objectives while keeping both of these factors in mind.” Fortunately, there are several ways to accomplish business objectives without sacrificing your program or its quality. 1 Timing Is Everything Properties will offer more favorable rates if you select a pattern that does not interfere with the revenue they count on from non-group travel. For example, a Sunday-to-Friday pattern at 22 A word of advice from the king 24 What’s Inside 25 Day trips motivate employees without breaking the budget 26 Roger Dow discusses successful leadership Have attendees reel in a delicious dinner 14 I SM I June 2009 I SuccessfulMeetings.com http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - June 2009

Successful Meetings - June 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
Maritz Goes Virtual
Education
Management Matters
Food & Beverage
Incentive Insights
Roger Dow Leads the Troops
Life Goes On
The Good Life
Las Vegas Supplement
California Supplement

Successful Meetings - June 2009